Videos

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Trying a restaurant for the first time is like going on a first date - you don’t know how it will turn out.

We've never been to Ramen Tei, one of St. Louis' first few ramen houses located in Ballwin. So when our friends invited us for dinner we didn't hesitate to say yes.My husband and I are the first to arrive and to my surprise, I was greeted by a familiar face (Mike). I instantly felt like a regular. As the rest of our group steadily filled the table, Mike knew almost all of them, as they were regulars of the place. It immediately set the tone- fun, warm and relaxed.

The food was exquisite. We enjoyed the small plates and the specials were even better. I was pleasantly surprised when Mike announced that the Chef sent us extra plates of the specials so the entire group can try. And I was thrilled to meet Chef Nick as he came out to say hi just as our Ramen bowls were being served.

Over-all Ramen Tei is a great place to unwind, drink some sake, savor their small plates and slurp up ramen.

The pork belly bun is unlike all the pork belly buns that I've tasted. the bun is light and soft and the aoili had the perfect hint of heat.

Otoro (Bluefin Tuna Belly): I called this 'the butter of the sea" the slices of bluefin were tender and soft... and yes it melts in your mouth!

Salmon Crudo had a light and clean taste. The moment it touches your tongue it melts in your mouth and all of a sudden there’s that pop coming from the tobiko and the crackling sound of the crispy shallots. It was a symphony of taste and texture.

The ramen was en pointe-- the broth has depth but the perfectly crusted pork belly punctuated this bowl of deliciousness!

Monday, November 20, 2017

Chicken Inasal is a popular dish which was popularized in the Southern Philippines especially in Bacolod

Inasal which directly translates for grilled or barbecue is different because of the use of coconut vinegar, kalamansi juice and also lemongrass, ginger and also turmeric which i included with my recipe. It ’s also characterized by its distinct orangey or yellowish color because of the annatto oil which is used for basting the chicken while being grilled.

Saturday, April 1, 2017

I know, I know, it's April 1st... popularly known as April Fool's day. And if you're a subscriber to this blog and you receive a notification saying "Skip to Malou has a new post", don't be alarmed. I am not playing practical jokes on you. This is real. LOL!

I know too that it's too early to be awake at 5:00 a.m on a Saturday, much more to sit in front of my computer trying to slip a new post into the blogosphere (gosh I've not used that word in awhile). But listen, someone pinch me! Tell me I'm not dreaming! You see, my baby, Kamayan Nights is the cover story of Feast Magazine. After 18 Kamayan Nights at Hiro here in St. Louis and also in LA and Las Vegas, finally my handiwork is being featured on the magazine spread. If you are interested to read the whole article (and I mean it's on the centerfold and with 6 pages to boot--- now fan me fan me, haha) click here.

I'd like to thank Cat Neville, the publisher of Feast Magazine for the generous feature. You cannot imagine the gasp and the fuzziness I feel deep down every time I turn the page over and over. I also would like to thank Mallory Gnaegy for the wonderful article. Her words captured the event with every detail--- some of which I didn't even realize that it was there haha. She also made it look that I was so talented of a chef haha. And the photos that Jonathan Gayman captured were stunning! I am sharing some of his photos from the magazine down below. But before I go, let me also share a segment of the The Big 550 KTRS where Cat Neville and hosts Ms. Kelly Jackson and Mcgraw talk about Filipino food in general on how its trending and yes fan me fan me again, hahah, about Skip to Malou Kamayan. Thank you Kelly!!! Thank you McGraw! and again Thank you Cat! I was sooo over the moon listening to you guys!

This is my play on bulalo. Bulalo is a soup dish made that is made of beef bone marrow . One of its components is potato. So to make it Kamayan friendly, I made BULALO Croquettes.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Gayman

Tortang Talong is a traditional dish which is more of an eggplant omelette. But here I played on its appearance by making them into waffles.
Photo Credit : Jonathan Gayman

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

I'm tiptoeing yep literally my heels are raised and I'm walking with my weight on the balls of my feet into the blogosphere to wave :::HELLO:::

Ok I know your eyes are rolling as to what made me slip a new post today but hey don't judge. I'm here and that's what matters.

So March is slipping away and phew, it was a busy one. I started off with a collab with STL's Guerrilla Street Food rockstars Joel Crespo and Brian Hardesty. We had a gig together, which we called REBEL KAMAYAN. It was a sold out event and what makes my heart full is that my regular Kamayan adventurers followed me. It was nice to see them all enjoying the Kamayan spread but with a different venue. I also had a wonderful time working with Brian in the kitchen and also with Joel at the front of the house.

These are ... oh well your guess is as good as mine. But they were delicious as we turned them into BALUT TEMPURA or better yet Balut Qwek qwek,

These chicken were sitting pretty on beer cans as they were being roasted.

Chef Brian uses GSF's pit to roast the chicken

Selfie with Chef Brian

I was so busy that this was the only photo i took... tsk tsk tsk

It was a great honor to work with these two. They were sooo cool to work with. I look forward to more collabs.

Also if you noticed for the month of March, I have resumed making v-logs on YOUTUBE. My daughter Izzy volunteered to be my camera person and she inspired me to go to my kitchen and start cooking and video recording the process once again. And to tell you honestly I'm having so much fun doing it. I feel guilty for not doing it in a long time. But I won't make you miss them... so here they are... Oh my! See I made 7 videos in March (and I still have one to edit).

It's a bit of a challenge. I mean I am the chef/cook, recipe developer, the person on cam, the editor, food stylist and the dishwasher. On top of that my laptop has some technical difficulties but I'm moving along quite well. SO here they are... drum roll please?
CLICK AWAY AND SHARE!

STEAMED POMPANO

PALABOK FROM SCRATCH

EMPANADA

ARROZ ALA CUBANA

CHICKEN ADOBO

MUSSELS IN WHITE WINE AND GARLIC BROTH

SYLVANAS/SILVANAS

By the way the next Skip to Malou Kamayan will be on April 4. RSVP now. goo.gl/3QBEh8

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Skip to Malou's Kamayan Night turns one! Yes 14 epic dining events. (12 in STL, one- and the biggest, in LA and another in Las Vegas). What a fun culinary adventure it was.

Kamayan is a tagalog term that comes from the root word "kamay" which means hands. So it literally means eating with hands. It is a communal feast where the food is laid on a long table (around 30 guests) draped with banana leaves.

So if you're wondering where I've been after more than a year of not writing on this blog, it's because I've been busy doing Kamayan Feasts and not to mention my brunch and dinner pop-ups here in St. Louis as well.

I enjoy (although challenging) creating Kamayan spreads every month. Every month I usually have themes and draw inspirations from them But I believe the success lies on the incredible support of family and friends especially here in St. Louis. I cannot thank them enough for their unwavering support. . And of course I have to mention to the owners of Hiro Asian Kitchen (the monthly venue) Bernie and Sui and to the whole Hiro Team for allowing me to grow in my culinary career exponentially❤️❤️❤️

Here are the beautiful faces and some food photos that made Skip to Malou's Kamayan Dinner series incredibly fab!

And oh btw, the next one will be on October 18. Here's the link to join:
http://oct182016.brownpapertickets.com

Kamayan Round 1

Kamayan Round 2

the brave souls who partook on the balut challenge

hmmm yes bragging point: It got me an award!!!

ding ding ding ding!!! we have a winner: Sean Johnson, who never missed any Kamayan dinner!

and the runners up

two words: spam fries

The regulars who were clad in a Filipino Barong during the first year anniversary.

I have this incredible feeling of satisfaction giving joy and excitement to people in the context of food. Thank you so much to y'all!

Friday, July 3, 2015

I've been enjoying all the culinary opportunities that STL has to offer.

The latest gig is being featured in Hiro Asian Kitchen . Starting on July 7, Skip to Malou's signature dishes will be featured every dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday along side their scrumptious regular menu of Hiro.

I met Chef Bernie Lee, Executive Chef owner of Hiro Asian Kitchen a few weeks ago when I attended his first pop up dinner in a hip furniture shop called Hammer and Hand. I immediately fell in love with Bernie. We share the same passion about our food. Staying true to the traditional flavors but modern in presentation and approach.

After a few days, our paths crossed again, (as in literally we bumped into each other while I was walking around the park looking at Antiques on display). He invited me for lunch one afternoon and over a round of cocktails and burgers we agreed to do a collaboration within a few weeks.

We are thrilled that the media is excited about our collaboration. We were invited by Kim Hudson, one of the hosts of the 9AM News on Fox2 to talk more about our event.

Here's the clip of that wonderful guesting that we did. I hope to see you there:
HIRO's ASIAN KITCHEN
1405 WASHINGTON AVE.
St. Louis, MO
EVERY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY (DINNER)

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Ok fine, let me breathe... but yes today, I was on SHOW ME ST. LOUIS! I'm stoked being with the host and STL's favorite Ms. Heidi Glaus.

Alright please forgive me for posting this picture. (In our defense the lights were off when this photo was taken) I just needed to put it out there that working with Heidi makes you feel like you are a pro in front of the TV camera. The truth is she made the whole experience fun and easy, that I totally forgot I was on cam! Seriously Heidi, thank you so much for this wonderful experience. And of course to the whole crew of Show Me St. Louis (even up to the Security Guard haha!).

SO I was on Show Me St. Louis to share some of the plates I will be serving at my next pop-up, Did I say another POP-UP? Oh ok, sorry for not updating you guys on what's going on but yes, I have another pop-up this coming June 27 at Hammer and Hand Imports. Hammer and Hand is a hip furniture shop owned by Chris and Amy. They've been hosting one of a kind pop-up dinners at their store lately. It was serendipitous that one day, I just dropped by their store and voila, here I am schedule to do another pop up at their venue. I am also collaborating with another couple, Carlos and Val, owners of 2340 Kitchen Mobile Services. We've been neighbors all these years but I'm excited to know them closely as we work together for this upcoming event.

Ok fine, here's the link of my SHOW ME ST. LOUIS stint . But before you click that, if you want to reserve for the pop-up, I suggest you do so because space is limited. Click the button to reserve.

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WELCOME

Malou Nievera is the creative driving force behind the food blog, Skip to Malou, named one of Babble’s Top 100 Food Mom Blogs. She acts as the blog's recipe developer, writer, cook and photographer. She shares her easy and simple recipes with a focus on Filipino food. She also shares her recipes in her YOUTUBE channel, SKIP TO MALOU COOKING WITH A FILIPINO ACCENT.